During the past 11-plus weeks, it seems that everything has collapsed and the worst-case scenario has played out, regardless of what the Rangers have done. They got another dose of that Thursday.

Once again showing an ability to creep through the free-agent market undetected, the Los Angeles Angels unexpectedly made the huge splash of the offseason when they agreed with free agent Josh Hamilton on a five-year, $125 million deal. That left their chief rivals, the Rangers, wondering what had happened and with another strikeout on their stat line.

The Rangers weren’t willing to offer Hamilton more than a four-year deal, but they were reportedly told they would have the opportunity to match any offer Hamilton received. Hamilton's agent, Mike Moye, denied there was such as agreement, and Hamilton informed Rangers general manager Jon Daniels of his deal with the Angels only after it was completed—without allowing Daniels the chance to counter.

Hamilton is just another name on the list of offseason failures for Texas. His goes up there with Zack Greinke, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite having the Rangers as his first option for a time, and Justin Upton, who was the Rangers’ main trade target but isn’t likely to be moved now that the Arizona Diamondbacks filled their shortstop need (with Didi Gregorius) in their nine-player trade with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds earlier this week.

The Rangers also reportedly were interested in B.J. Upton and James Shields—both landed elsewhere—but their biggest offseason addition is setup man Joakim Soria. And now that Texas has been backed into a corner in its attempt to acquire an impact player, the price for New York Mets ace R.A. Dickey and Upton (if Arizona still is willing to listen) just went way up.

With Greinke, Shields, Upton and Hamilton coming off the table in the past few days and with the Rangers coming off a disappointing regular season finish and wild-card elimination, they are stunned and weakened. Meanwhile, the Angels are now the AL West favorites.

The big question: Where do the Rangers go from here?

There still are quality pitchers on the market, but guys like Edwin Jackson and Kyle Lohse aren’t long-term solutions to head Texas’ rotation. And all three likely will be overpriced considering Greinke’s $147 million deal and the Rangers’ desperation.

As for position players, Texas needs those, too. The lineup is on the verge of a serious power outage after losing Mike Napoli and Hamilton (and, to a lesser extent, Michael Young). Outside of Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz, the pop in a lineup that was once intimidating is nearly gone. And there aren’t many options to replace the 122 homers that Hamilton and Napoli swatted over the past two seasons.

Another question: Why are the Rangers in this position?

One obvious answer is their unwillingness to part with shortstop Elvis Andrus or infield prospect Jurickson Profar. Texas is willing to deal third base/first base prospect Mike Olt, but he alone won’t bring back a player like Upton.

It is more difficult to understand why the Rangers have been spurned by free agents. Perhaps after the winter meetings, Daniels and Co. believed Greinke was going to be theirs—Greinke admitted he was leaning toward Texas before he met with the Dodgers and analyzed their roster and chances to win a World Series. Then, of course, there was the money, which was a record haul for a righthander.

As for Hamilton, Daniels said the slugger told him that he thought it might be time to move on from the Rangers. Still, Daniels expected to talk with Hamilton before he agreed to a deal elsewhere. That didn’t happen, and the reasons for that rest with Hamilton.